By Jennifer Summer Houston Chronicle
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas — The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office is mourning one of their own – Capt. Randy Eaves.
Eaves, who would have been with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office for 26 years in April, committed suicide in his motor home at the KOA RV Resort off of Texas 105 West Sunday, according to the MCSO.
“Today, we are mourning the death of Eaves – and we will be for some time. Eaves made the decision to take his own life on Sunday,” Lt. Scott Spencer stated in an email to The Courier Monday. “A decision that we, at MCSO, are all struggling with as there are always more questions than good answers in matters like these.
“But know this – Eaves was a good man, he was loved, he was a great friend, an excellent father and a good peace officer. Eaves was at a difficult juncture in his life and was having to figure out his next steps,” Spencer concluded.
In January 2017, Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson implemented a full-time chaplaincy program as well as Crisis Intervention Response Team, which consists of 12 members to help employees with difficult and stressful situations as well as traumatic events. Both of these programs are in addition to the Employee Assistance Program that Montgomery County offers all Montgomery County employees.
Both the chaplaincy and the CIRT were mobilized in this situation to help staff deal with the tragedy.
Eaves started as a reserve deputy for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in June 1989, volunteering for more than 20 hours a week for two years before starting full-time as a jailer.
During his tenure, Eaves worked in the jail, patrol, Narcotics Interdiction, auto theft as a detective then as a sergeant.
As a sergeant, he was assigned to the Fleet Operations Division to bring the Mobile Data Computers online in the patrol vehicles and then became a lieutenant leading the Fleet Operations Division.
Additionally, he worked with the Communications Division on the startup of the current Radio Shop.
According to MCSO, Eaves was instrumental in implementing the Montgomery County Tow Policy and, in 2007, received the Meritorious Service Award for that task.
“This is a difficult time for all of us at MCSO and we will lean on each other for strength,” Spencer stated. “We will get through this as a family and we will honor Randy’s memory by building upon this tragedy to become stronger.”
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